Hidden in the Myst
by northstar333
Summary: She is the first face he sees upon awakening from 100 yrs of dreams. He is the last hope she has believed in since she was a little girl. Together they walk the path of destiny with love an intangible bond between them. Collection of AangXKatara stories.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Avatar, its characters, copyrights, storyline, etc etc belong to its owners. I just write for fun.

# Guiding Light #

He has worn a thousand different faces, danced the cycle of the four elements a thousand different life times. On the spiraling path of his soul's journey, he is like the phoenix, a bright comet whose trail consists of all the lives he touches. His spirit is an irresistible, irrepressible force, part of the very weave of the universe. Countless souls chase after him, caught in the vortex left by his passage.

There are those few strong spirits, whether by chaos or divine intention, that circle with him through the cycle of reincarnation. Some ever opposed, some ever allied, they rally to the sign of his rebirth and so the dance begins again.

Only she…she is the one that comes before. Water to his Air; Earth to his Water; Fire to his Earth; Air to his Fire…

Sometimes she is the harsh teacher who leads. Sometimes she is the gentle sibling who follows. But she has always been there; the cool crescent light of the moon to the consuming flames of his sun. She is his stabilizer, his shelter, his support; his companion, his friend, his…lover.

She is his reason for fighting, and his reward at the end. Victory is never sweeter than her lips; and home is never farther than the circle of her arms.

She is his guiding light.


	2. Some Day

Disclaimer: Avatar, its characters, its copyrights, storyline, etc etc belong to its owners. I just write for fun.

Warning: Spoilers for up to Book 3, Chapter 13 the Firebending Masters

# Some Day #

_Some day,_ her heart whispers.

Through blood and violence and gore, she fights and dreams and hopes. She has always looked to the future with faith, but she never expected that faith to come with a form, with a face.

His; the Avatar.

It is hard to reconcile the awesome belief of her heart to the goofy, carefree child that she finds. It is so easy—too easy—to look past what he is supposed to be and see all that he is not. She slips into the role of a mothering sister without conscious thought, taking him under her wing as she has taken her brother. She has grown up in a village filled with little boys. His crush on her is nothing more than a fleeting thing of spring; something she finds both flattering and slightly uncomfortable.

In the cold chill of the North, she is measured against those of her own kind and found worthy; worthy to teach the Avatar, worthy to stand by his side, worthy to follow him as a warrior. During the dark death of the moon, she leaves her childhood and becomes a young woman. She is only fourteen.

He is the Avatar, and he is a twelve year old child. His nightmares come to haunt him at night and—when they are especially fierce or their situation is especially bleak—she makes the concession of kissing him on the forehead and assuring him everything will be alright. She gives him the love and support a child needs, platonic and unshakable.

She is there to bear witness as his power eclipses hers, as he steps onto the path of his destiny, as he faces the fight he alone can win. Her belief is rewarded and tested in turn, until the darkest hour comes and she stands firm, saving him from oblivion. She learns how much he means to her, not as a savior, but as a person.

His kiss changes everything.

A child; a monk; a vegetarian. A prankster and practical joker who bears the weight of the world on his small shoulders. She should see the ridiculousness of it; instead she only sees him succeeding where grown men would fail. She respects him too much to shrug off the seriousness of his unspoken feelings, no matter how young. When his confession comes, she will think of him as a man and listen to what her heart tells her. Yet she fears her answer will not be the one he wants to hear.

Only at night, in the dark, when his nightmares come again is she less sure of herself. Her fingers find the smooth surface of his forehead by feel alone, her voice refusing to come as she chokes on the comfortable lies one tells a child. She finds herself empty of the platitudes that might ease his slumber. Uneasy, afraid he will wake, she stoops to give him his kiss…only to hesitate.

The moon, gentle in her light, seems to wink as a cloud drifts over her face. Katara is reminded of love and loss, and of those things she might regret if fate steals away her choices.

Barely daring to breathe, she ghosts her lips over his.

It is nothing more than a possibility, a tiny glimmer of a beginning, but it satisfies her as, with a quiet sigh, he settles into deeper, dreamless sleep. She does not let herself linger, turning instead to resume her own rest. Her drift from consciousness into dreams is an easy one, as fluid as water, as inescapable as destiny.

_Some day,_ her heart whispers, _Some day…_


	3. Lifetime Companions

Disclaimer: Don't own anything Avatar, any of the copyrights to the characters, storyline, etcetc. Write for fun only.

Rated: G

Warning: Spoilers for episode one and two.

# Lifetime Companions #

He has always made friends easily.

With an air bison as a companion, he has always been free. Free to go where the winds take them, free to visit new lands and leave with happy memories. The southern air temple has always been "home" in as much as _any_ nomad considers one place a permanent residence.

Like strings of lanterns, his friends are the bright spots in his travels. Their stationary, rooted lives make them a part of his _destinations._ Very few in his young life have been a part of the _journey._

Appa is one of them. Gyatso was also one.

And so, when he looks up and sees her for the first time, he is sensitive enough to recognize that here is another.

_Katara._

Perhaps it is wrong of him to say nothing, to observe her in her stationary, comfortable life. A mere feeling, and yet he knows that very shortly her orderly life will be shaken up and she will be offered a choice. He cannot help the special interest he takes in her, delighted to find someone that will not only be a friend, but a traveling companion as well.

He is quick to offer to take her to the North Pole to find a water bending master. Her uncertainty curbs his eagerness as he realizes that she must leave behind everything she's ever known in order to go. He has always left places knowing he will return again. For her it is different. Her departure carries with it a finality that his has never had.

Conscience makes him refuse to be the wedge that drives her apart from her people, even if it drives her closer to him. Even if she is the only familiar, comforting presence in a world that has aged one hundred years since he last breathed its air.

Innate compassion makes him want to protect the lives of the water tribe when the fire benders' attack. Danger to _her,_ and he is willing to surrender himself so that she and those she cares about won't be hurt.

Surprise, relief, and gratitude greet the sight of her and her brother on Appa, coming to his rescue. Exhaustion and dread herald the end of the Avatar state as the truth about him is reflected in her eyes.

The revelation he ran away from becomes the obligation he is forced to face. He is capable of shrugging off the burden of a world in need—but not the hope he sees in her eyes. Gently, invisibly, her belief becomes the thread that binds him to his errant destiny.

And he does not resent her for it. Because he knows she will be beside him every step of the way.


End file.
